Here are the resources you need for this Sunday. Please feel free to choose what is suitable for your congregation’s needs. You will notice that the orders of service are available in different formats: choose the “pdf” format if you want something that is ready to print and photocopy, the “doc” or “rtf” format if you wish to change the formatting yourself or the “ppt” format if you use PowerPoint.

Prayer of the Day (Collect): Choose one of the followingTraditional
Lord, grant your people grace
to avoid the contamination of the devil,
and to follow you, the only Lord,
with pure hearts and minds;
through your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.Amen.

OR, modernised traditional
Lord, help your people
to avoid all contamination of the devil,
and to follow you, the only Lord,
with pure hearts and minds.
We ask this through your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.Amen.

OR, alternative
(Let us pray for a willingness to serve others. [silence])
Almighty and merciful Father,
your Son Jesus Christ has taught us
that what we do for those in need
we also do for him.
As he became the servant of all,
help us to be a servant to others.
For he lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.Amen.

OR, new
(Let us pray that we become more like Jesus. [silence])
Loving and self-giving God,
teach us to follow the example of your Son, Jesus,
who was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter.
Lead us to be submissive to you,
and kind and considerate to others.
We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.Amen.

Prayer after the gospel:This is the gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.Lord Jesus, thank you for giving up everything,
and dying and rising to life again.
Help us also to serve others.
Amen.

Offering Prayer:Thank you, God, for giving us so much,
especially your Son, Jesus Christ.
As you have loved and accepted us,
teach us to love and accept others.
Make us peace-loving
and ready to serve.
Amen.

Resources for services with Holy Communion
PREFACEIt is indeed right and good,
Lord God, holy Father,
that we should at all times and in all places
give thanks to you,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
(On this day)*
he overcame death by his resurrection
and opened up for us
the way to eternal life with you.
And so, with angels and archangels,
and with all the company of heaven,
we adore and praise your glorious name:
* The words ‘on this day’ are used only on Sundays.

COMMUNION INVITATIONJesus says: ‘I am the bread of life.
Whoever comes to me will never be hungry,
and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’(Thanks be to God.)
Come, everything is ready.

OR
Jesus says: ‘My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.
Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood remain in me, and I in them.’(Thanks be to God.)
Come, everything is ready.

OR
This cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks
is a communion in the blood of Christ.
This bread that we break
is a communion in the body of Christ.(Thanks be to God.)
Come, everything is ready.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNIONThe third prayer of the day (as listed above) may be used at this point. It may be modified as follows.

Almighty and merciful Father,
thank you that your Son Jesus Christ
has served us at his own table.
As he became the servant of all,
help us to be a servant to others.
For he lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.Amen.

DISMISSALGo in peace, and serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God.ORIn the name of Christ. Amen.

Gospel: Mark 9:30-37
LHS
359 Thee will I love, my strength, my treasure* G6
600 Gentle Jesus, meek and mild
783 Christ is the world’s light G6 (see TIS 246)
789 My Lord, you wore no royal crown G6
816 O Fount of good (alt tune 344, G6)
857 Low, the way is low GS
891 The silent moon has risen (vv 4,5)AT
190 Low, the way is low
261 The Servant King
292 Because we bear your name
475 Come to the banquet (Communion)
504 The silent moon has risen (vv 3,4)TIS
235 A man there lived in Galilee
246 Christ is the world’s light
256 From heaven you came
686 Lord Jesus, we belong to you (Because we bear your name)

PSALM 1
The following metrical paraphrase of Psalm 1 by David Schütz may be sung to the tune Ellers (LH 514). If reproducing this version, please put ‘Words (c) David Schütz’ at the beginning or the end of the psalm.

Happy are they whose love is in God’s law,
those who do not walk in ungodly ways,
those who don’t stand among the the sinful crowd,
those who refuse to sit with those who scoff.

They meditate on God’s law day and night.
They are like trees that grow beside a stream;
they will bear fruit at every harvest time,
they will not die, but thrive in all they do.

But the ungodly – they are not like this!
They are like chaff that scatters in the wind.
They cannot stand before the Lord their judge
in the assembly of God’s righteous ones.

All those will perish who walk in the path
of the ungodly, following their way.
But the Lord knows the way of all his saints,
who love his law and live in righteousness.

OTHER HELPFUL WEBSITES FOR CHURCH MUSICWhile the LCA does not necessarily endorse the content of these websites, you may find them helpful in your worship planning.Small Church Music: You can download mp3 and midi files of popular hymn tunes from this site.Together to Celebrate: lectionary based song and hymn suggestions from a variety of sources.Singing from the Lectionary: has song and hymn suggestions based on the RCL from other hymnals.Song Select: you can search for more contemporary songs by theme. If your congregation has a paid subscription you can also download sheet music.Hymns Without Words: mp3 downloads of hymn tunes.Song and Hymn Index. Contains all the indexes of the LHS and AT books in one Excel file. Download the file (zip file)here.